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https://www.positive.news/society/nightjar-and-other-rare-species-flourish-in-south-englands-heathland/>
"Forming a vast carpet of purple and pink, the heathers of the South Downs
National Park shimmer under a blue late summer sky. Late August and early
September is when the magic of the heathland really unfolds, with the heather
blossoming into a cascade of colour.
It’s a sight that helped to spark the Heathlands Reunited project in 2016,
uniting 11 organisations led by the South Downs National Park Authority to try
to recreate, reconnect and restore the heathland that’s left there. Now
concluded, the five-year project has helped the habitat to bounce back from the
brink.
This is a landscape that bears the mark of many generations: heathlands only
exist today because of human intervention over thousands of years. Nonetheless,
some rare and endangered species call it home, even though heathland now covers
just 1% of the national park. These are mostly separated into small ‘islands’,
where isolated plants and animals are far more vulnerable to local extinction.
Efforts have, tentatively, born fruit. Heathlands Reunited has “conserved and
enhanced” 23,825 hectares – or 18,000 football pitches – of lowland heath. An
independent scientific assessment revealed the initiative had been
‘significant’ in restoring the ecological condition of the habitat.
“There are early signs that a number of rare species, such as European nightjar
and silver-studded blue butterflies, are flourishing,” Jeff Travis, media and
public relations officer at the national park authority, told
Positive News
as he announced a photography competition that’s designed to celebrate the
South Downs’ beauty.
The heathland is also a haven for 12 of 13 native amphibians and reptiles in
the UK, and also provides a refuge for other rare, secretive birds such as the
Dartford warbler. In 2017, the year after Heathlands Reunited began, some 67
nightjars were spotted in an annual bird survey in one spot – the Wealden
Special Protection Area sites in Hampshire. By 2023, this had climbed to 84."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
